Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 259

Chapter 259

“Number One on the Heavenly Ranking?” Xiling You frowned slightly. “But that person has been off the grid for years. Ever since Gu Changge disappeared, his points haven’t moved at all. It’s just that back then, he was already far ahead of second place, so even after all these years, no one has surpassed him.”

Legend had it that it was also because of Gu Changge that the Number One on the Heavenly Ranking had been able to accumulate such an astonishing score back then.

“How do we find this person?”

Xiling You was not exactly a native of this world, but she had been active on the Heavenly Ranking for so many years that she did indeed know some leads.

“I’ll make a call for you.” Xiling You dialed Zhou Yizhi’s mother’s number.

“Hello, Auntie, it’s me, Youyou. Is this a good time to talk? I wanted to ask you about something…” As Xiling You spoke on the phone, she walked out of the conservatory.

Through the bright glass of the conservatory, Gu Huaiwei looked at Xiling You negotiating outside. He Xueyi slowly walked to her side. “You’ve been very close with Miemie lately. That little thing relies on you a great deal, but don’t let her cute appearance fool you. She has claws and fangs.”

“I’ve already witnessed her talent for stitching and patching things back together.” Gu Huaiwei glanced sideways at him. “Don’t think I’m playing favorites. I did mention taking you out with me before, but you don’t seem to like this Dimension very much, and your attitude toward work hasn’t been enthusiastic enough, so I could only leave you here at the Sanatorium.”

He Xueyi pressed his pale pink lips together. He really did hate this gloomy world.

Everything here seemed coated in dust. Those Anomaly were saturated with the aura of death. The only good thing was the humans, lost and bewildered, who gave him a chance to spread his doctrine while soothing their frightened hearts.

“Shop Manager Miss, allow me to correct you slightly. What I hate is the sunless world outside, not following by your side.”

He liked staying in the conservatory because the conservatory was vibrant with life.

“That’s fine. Maintaining customer relations inside the shop is also an important job.” Behind Gu Huaiwei’s smooth lenses, the color in her upturned eyes shifted faintly. She decided to dangle a carrot in front of him. “You can slack off a little. That’s the privilege I’m giving you.”

After saying that, Gu Huaiwei even winked at him slyly.

In any case, lecturing him would not make him change. He had already slacked off, so Gu Huaiwei might as well say something nice and win him over.

He Xueyi’s expression paused. His long lashes trembled. With a calm expression, he turned his face aside, as if he had only missed her gaze by accident. Yet his fingertips curled slightly, and the faint smile at the corner of his lips was like a spring breeze brushing across a still lake, stirring a ring of ripples.

“Shop Manager Miss, with me, you have privileges too.”

Xiling You had finished her call and returned.

“Shopkeeper Gu, the person you’re looking for is not in Gray Mist Town, but don’t worry. I have a way to bring him to you.”

“What are your conditions?”

Xiling You curved her lips. What she liked most was talking to smart people like Gu Huaiwei. They put their interests out in the open and did not need to waste time on excessive pleasantries or sentimental talk.

She held up two fingers. “Two conditions. First, bring Zhou Yizhi back from the Mine Instance. Alive, I want to see the person. Dead, I want to see the body. Second, let me stay and work at the Sanatorium. We’ll sign an open-ended employment contract.”

Xiling You needed to stay at Oasis Sanatorium to help her family investigate the secret of the Dimension passageway, then find the way back.

“Deal.”

Neither request was difficult. Gu Huaiwei decisively high-fived Xiling You.

Because Oasis Sanatorium housed both humans and Anomaly, Gu Huaiwei wrote down the second of the Rules as a restriction for the Sanatorium.

“Within the Sanatorium, Anomaly and humans shall not violate one another. Anomaly may not harm humans, and humans may not form a Contract with Anomaly.”
After that, Gu Huaiwei prepared to head to the Mine Instance and bring Zhou Yizhi back.

The previous round of the Mine Instance had closed long ago.

Zhou Yizhi and Zhao Lianxin were most likely in grave danger.

She saw Mu Lanwo still waiting in the lobby at the spot they had agreed on last time, wearing a brown dress with a fashionable Snail Bag hanging from her wrist.

When she saw Gu Huaiwei, Mu Lanwo said at her usual leisurely pace, “Miss Gu, I’m ready to set off.”

Gu Huaiwei had already earned several Samsara in the Instance, and Mu Lanwo was only just ready.

She really was slow by nature.

Gu Huaiwei asked, “Didn’t I tell you last time to stay in the shop and do the accounts? Are they finished?”

She had assigned the work to the newly arrived Mu Lanwo because she figured slow work made for careful work.

“Lin She thought I was too slow, so he wrote an automated accounting script and solved all the problems,” Mu Lanwo said, lowering her head a little, looking wronged.

She felt she could have done a very good job too. She was just a little slow.

“Uh…”

Lin She was almost too reliable when it came to work.

Gu Huaiwei still had not seen what Mu Lanwo was capable of. She sighed and said, “Fine. You can come with me this time. But can you walk a little faster?”

She was the kind of person who acted the moment she decided to do something, brisk and decisive. She could not stand work being done at a crawl.

Mu Lanwo’s eyes lit up. “I will.”

As it turned out, promises and actions were two different things.

Asking someone who moved slowly to act quickly was simply unrealistic.

Mu Lanwo walked with exceptional grace. Carrying her little bag, she took small, slow steps behind Gu Huaiwei.

Gu Huaiwei kept feeling like Mu Lanwo was about to fall asleep mid-stride.

“Do you want me to carry your bag? Maybe you’ll walk faster that way.”

“It’s all right. It isn’t heavy.” Mu Lanwo smiled at Gu Huaiwei. With legs that long, she somehow managed to walk at the speed of someone with a disability.

“Snail Girl, are you sure this is your top speed?” Every short distance, Gu Huaiwei had to stop and wait for Mu Lanwo. “How about I just carry you?”

“Eh?” The tips of Mu Lanwo’s ears flushed faintly red. She covered half her face and lowered her head with gentle embarrassment. “That wouldn’t be very appropriate… We’d be pressed very close together… Although I do like being very close, all sticky and together, I only just got here. If He Xueyi and the others saw, they’d get jealous.”

“Stop dawdling. Sit in the wheelchair. I’ll push you.” Gu Huaiwei took a wheelchair out of the Jade Bracelet, had Mu Lanwo sit in it, then pushed her quickly toward the Mine Instance.

The entrance to the Mine Instance was still sealed.

Gu Huaiwei was about to dig it open with her shovel.

Mu Lanwo, however, rolled the Snail Bag in her hand forward, directly smashing a passage through the mine ahead.

She did have some strange abilities after all.

Gu Huaiwei pushed Mu Lanwo into the Mine Instance. She sniffed the air for the scent Zhou Yizhi had left behind, searching for his trail.

Before she had gone far, she saw Zhao Lianxin, half-swallowed by the rock wall.

Her limbs had already petrified. Her body was embedded in the rock wall, becoming part of the Instance. The pitiful thing was that her mind was still fairly clear. She could still feel the hunger in her belly, as well as the pain of her stiffened limbs.

When she saw Gu Huaiwei, she spoke in agony. “Shopkeeper Gu… I’m here. There is still some Lifespan I earned in this Instance in my pocket. Please take it to my husband.

“The room fee has already expired. I need to renew it for him…”